61. So, Will the Problem Child Become a Love Guru?
Seeing that Miura Yumiko's mind was completely occupied with thoughts like "Unbelievable" and "What nonsense is this guy talking about?", Ishikawa Hikaru set down the empty glass he had just finished and teased her again.
"Feeling much better now, aren't you? At least you're not depressed about Hayama anymore, right?"
Miura froze for a moment. Then her expression shifted back to disbelief.
"Did you deliberately do that just to distract me?"
"Mostly because your reaction was very interesting," Hikaru replied with a smile, picking up the beer bottle to refill his glass. "But now that your emotions have stabilized, we can finally talk about Hayama."
Miura's momentum immediately weakened, though she still refused to admit defeat.
"I have time anyway. Listening won't hurt."
"Perhaps you don't realize it," Hikaru began boldly, "but many people in society have poor eyesight."
"They only see the surface of others and arrogantly believe they've completely understood them."
"I call that behavior 'The Ignorant Have No Fear.'"
"Wait a second," Miura interrupted, regaining some of her spirit. "I'm not interested in hearing your grand theories."
"Then I'll just give you the conclusion."
Hikaru took a small sip of beer, let out a satisfied sound, and set the glass down.
"The way Hayama behaves within your group isn't entirely fake. It's impossible for anyone to completely disguise themselves."
"But his experience and skill in social acting are so polished that they create a huge illusion."
"You end up believing the Hayama you see is vastly different from his real self."
"And admiration is often the farthest distance from true understanding."
"So unless you objectively recognize the real Hayama Hayato, your feelings will never truly reach him."
Miura bit her lower lip unconsciously.
She looked unwilling to accept his words, opening her mouth several times before ultimately staying silent.
"I don't know where Hayama learned his social skills," Hikaru continued. "Maybe from his parents. Maybe somewhere else."
"But regardless, it proves that his ability to control atmosphere and handle social interactions is far beyond the level of ordinary high school students."
"So running into a wall with him right now…"
"…is actually a good thing."
Miura blinked in confusion.
"That's a good thing?"
"Why wouldn't it be?" Hikaru countered.
"Whether it's realizing that Hayama sometimes uses adult-level social tactics, or discovering that the version of him you see isn't the whole picture…"
"Doesn't that give you room to improve your own approach?"
Miura hesitated.
"…Even so…"
Her expression sank.
"But he said he already likes someone."
Hikaru looked genuinely puzzled.
"So what?"
"…Huh?"
"I mean exactly what I said," Hikaru replied. "So what if he likes someone?"
"That doesn't mean he can't eventually fall in love with you instead."
"Isn't that exactly what love is about?"
Miura was left speechless.
"This—"
"Let me explain it more simply."
Hikaru leaned forward slightly as if beginning a lecture.
"Most people experience a first love."
"But the number of people who marry their first love and stay together forever is extremely small."
"In most people's lives, they fall in love two or three times."
"Some exceptional cases even fall in love more than a dozen times."
"That's the normal state of human life."
"So again…"
"So what if Hayama likes someone right now?"
"That doesn't prevent the possibility that you could ultimately win, marry him, and spend your life together."
Miura visibly wavered.
"W-well… maybe that's true, but…"
"The battlefield of love isn't about mutual agreement," Hikaru said seriously.
"It's about who can survive until the end of the battlefield and claim the final prize."
"So a temporary failure doesn't mean lifelong failure."
"And temporary success doesn't mean permanent victory."
"All that matters is surviving until the end."
"But you're already discouraged just because you learned two things: that the Hayama you imagined isn't complete, and that he likes someone else."
"If you give up so easily, how can you possibly win later?"
"You deserve this defeat."
Miura's eyes widened.
After thinking about it carefully, she realized his words weren't entirely wrong.
She hesitated before asking quietly,
"Th-then… what should I do?"
"The ancient Chinese military text The Art of War says: 'Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles.'"
"That means you must first investigate Hayama thoroughly."
"Understand who the real Hayama Hayato is."
"Then figure out what methods you can use to win his heart."
Hikaru pushed the half-full glass of beer toward the center of the table.
"Take this glass of beer as an example."
"If this glass were Hayama…"
He pointed at it.
"Before I brought you here, it probably never crossed your mind that minors could bypass restrictions and still drink beer."
"You thought underage drinking laws were absolute."
"But if you understand how laws work—and how enforcement actually happens—you can bypass 'impossible' restrictions through practical methods."
"So now you need to forget everything you think you know about Hayama."
"And re-examine what kind of man Hayama actually is."
"You must distinguish between the real Hayama and the mask he shows everyone."
"Then figure out how to win his heart."
Hikaru picked up the beer glass and finished the remaining half in one gulp.
"Whew—refreshing!"
Miura snapped out of her thoughts.
"Hey! Won't drinking like that be a problem? You've already had two glasses!"
"If you get drunk, I'm not taking you home."
Hikaru glanced at the bottle.
"It's only been two glasses."
"In such a short time!"
"So what?" Hikaru said lightly. "You seem to misunderstand my alcohol tolerance."
"Want to see me drink straight from the bottle?"
"No thanks," Miura said with visible disgust. "I'm not interested in how much you can drink."
"I'm just worried you'll drink yourself unconscious and won't be able to get home."
"And if something happens because you're drunk, I might get dragged into trouble too."
"Thanks for the concern."
Hikaru smiled and poured another glass.
"But when I drink too much, I just end up going to the bathroom a lot."
"Are you serious?"
"In Japanese society, both men and women eventually have to learn their alcohol limits in the workplace."
"I'm just testing mine a little earlier than you."
He pinched his fingers together.
"I can only drink a tiny bit."
"How tiny?"
Hikaru raised the glass with a smile reminiscent of The Great Gatsby.
"Just keep drinking."
"…Huh?"
"Just kidding," Hikaru laughed.
"I start feeling dizzy after twenty-four bottles."
"Twenty-four bottles?!" Miura's eyes widened. "That would kill someone!"
"That's why I'd be visiting the bathroom constantly."
Hikaru shrugged and finished the glass again.
"See? Drinking while bragging adds emotional value!"
"Whatever," Miura muttered impatiently. "Just don't get drunk."
"Anyway."
Hikaru set the empty glass aside.
"Back to Hayama."
"Based on his behavior in your group—and the bits of information Yukinoshita occasionally mentioned—Hayama clearly grew up with an elite education."
"Miura-san… you didn't grow up in that kind of environment, did you?"
Miura immediately glared at him.
"So what if I didn't?"
"I'm not saying that's bad," Hikaru replied calmly.
"But objectively speaking, it creates certain limitations."
He became unusually serious.
"If you only want to date him, it doesn't matter."
"But if you want to go further…"
"Family background becomes a real issue."
"Elite families usually expect their children to marry into another elite family."
"They only accept someone from a lower background when they have no other choice."
"So even if you two start dating, once you graduate, family pressure will appear."
"If you truly want to spend your life with Hayama, you can't just drift through high school."
"You've heard of cram schools, right?"
"Students aiming for top universities attend them year-round."
"So someone from an elite family like Hayama will naturally—"
Miura suddenly snapped out of her daze.
"—Wait. Cram school?!"
She stared at him with disbelief.
"I'm not even dating Hayato yet, and you're already talking about marriage and university paths!"
"Don't you think that's way too unrealistic?"
"…Maybe it is."
Hikaru paused.
"But if you wait until you're actually dating him to think about it, it'll already be too late."
"He'll enter a top university."
"You might end up in an average one."
"He'll keep becoming more outstanding."
"And because of weaker academic foundations, you'll struggle twice as hard for half the results."
"But if you improve yourself now, you'll start on a higher level."
"And as you become more capable…"
"Hayama might naturally become attracted to you."
"Because boys aren't only attracted to appearance."
"They're attracted to ability, character, knowledge, confidence, and personality."
Miura clenched her teeth.
"Even if that's true…"
"Isn't telling someone to study harder a ridiculous form of relationship advice?"
"Shouldn't you be giving me some strategy instead?"
"Normally, yes," Hikaru admitted.
"But unfortunately, simple advice is often the most effective."
Miura sighed.
"Fine."
"Then what about your claim that our group would fall apart?"
"What's your brilliant plan for that?"
Hikaru raised an eyebrow.
"…You're still thinking about that?"
"That problem was already solved."
"Already solved?!"
Hikaru grinned.
"If I hadn't come today to stabilize your emotions…"
"And if you returned to school still unable to face Hayama…"
"Then a silent rift would have grown between you."
"Hayama wouldn't confront the issue directly because he wouldn't want to worsen your mood."
"The tension would slowly grow until your group collapsed."
"But now…"
"You've already begun thinking about moving forward again."
"That means today's failure won't destroy you."
"And once that happens…"
"The conflict at the water park will never become the sword hanging over your group."
"So."
"The problem that could have destroyed your group…"
"…was already solved before you even asked about it."
---
62. So, Will the Problem Child Be Sett?
Miura Yumiko was completely stunned.
Her expression shifted from blank confusion…
…to deep thought…
…and finally to pure shock.
It was the kind of shock that came from realizing:
"Wait… this logic actually works?"